LaLiga has terminated its exclusive media rights contract with Galaxy Racer (GXR) in the Indian subcontinent, after the media company failed to pay its fees for several months.
Streaming service FanCode is now likely to secure the rights, SportBusiness understands, with final contracting in process. The proposed agreement would only cover India.
FanCode already holds some Spanish club football rights in the country, with its deal for the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España ending this season.
Both parties would be keen to ensure the LaLiga agreement starts ahead of the biggest match of the season on Sunday, when league leaders Barcelona take on second-placed Real Madrid in El Clásico.
The main deal, thought to have been facilitated by the Peak Sport Media agency, is for the next five seasons, from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
The move comes after a turbulent relationship with GXR this season. In February, LaLiga as well as France’s Ligue 1 went ‘dark’ in India after the leagues cut their signal to due to non-payment. Ligue 1 never returned to screens in the country, though LaLiga returned to GXR.
It is understood, however, that GXR has failed to pay LaLiga since then.
Last year, LaLiga signed a six-year deal with GXR covering 2024-25 to 2029-30 for exclusive media rights in the Indian subcontinent.
France’s Professional Football League (LFP) sold Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 rights to GXR for a minimum of four seasons, from 2024-25 to 2027-28. That deal was brokered by the Iris Sport Media agency.
In September, the Dubai-based GXR, which to date has primarily been involved in esports and gaming, announced that it had secured broadcast rights to Italy’s Serie A as well as LaLiga and Ligue 1.
Coverage of Serie A remains available on the GXR website in India.
The deals, first reported to be close to completion by SportBusiness in July last year, surprised media companies in India due to GXR’s lack of track record as a broadcaster in the market.
After LaLiga went dark in February, GXR posted on social media: “Hey GXR fans, unfortunately, due to technical issues, we won’t be streaming LALIGA matches this weekend. We’re working on resolving this as quickly as possible to bring you back the action you love! Thank you for your patience and support.”
Earlier in the season, GXR cited technical problems in its LaLiga coverage and was unable to stream some matches. This was the result of genuine technical issues rather than related to payment.
The live rights to LaLiga and Ligue 1 matches were being showcased through GXR’s free-to-view website, which does not require registration, and app.
From 2021-22 to 2023-24, rights to LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A were all held by media group Viacom18 in agreements spanning the Indian subcontinent.
GXR’s LaLiga deal was not the first collaboration between the league and the organisation.
In 2022, LaLiga and GXR formed a 15-year joint venture designed to transform LaLiga’s presence in the Middle East and North Africa, plus the Indian subcontinent.
However, this relationship only covers sponsorship and partnerships, and not media rights brokering. This differentiates it from some of LaLiga’s other joint ventures, notably its agreement with Relevent Sports Group covering North America.
Values of rights to international football leagues have generally declined in India over recent cycles. Rights-holders have struggled to generate strong competition among broadcasters for all but major cricket properties as well as top-tier properties with broad global appeal, such as the Premier League.
SportBusiness Media analysis of the now defunct LaLiga-GXR deal, including the fee, can be read here.
GXR has previously claimed it has over 100 content creators, over 500 million followers, and generates over 2.5 billion monthly views. The company was founded in 2019 by Paul Roy.
Its five main verticals are: competitive esports teams, content creators, content and events production, consumer goods, as well as a record label, GXR Records.
Contacted by SportBusiness, GXR is yet to respond to a request for comment.